Eco enthusiast or skint sceptic? What is your ‘eco’ identity?
The issue of the environment and ethical living is a subject that continues to divide many. Whilst some like to be the font of all knowledge and live a green life, others pay no attention to global environmental and ethical issues that are taking place around us.
And whilst only decades ago the word ‘green’ was just a colour for most people, today new information released by Callcredit Information Group has revealed a whole range of classifications for the British public and their attitudes towards the environment.
From the ‘Righteous Rich’ to the ‘Am I Bothereds?’ below is a summary of the six predominant types:
1. The Righteous Rich
An intelligent bunch of wealthy individuals, the Righteous Rich take great interest in all things ethical and environmental.
Often heard debating the ins and outs of climate change or discussing the benefits of their ethical pensions; the Righteous Rich consider themselves to have an advanced understanding and awareness of environmental issues and want to make sure that you know it too.
Portraying a green image to the outside world is key for the Righteous Rich, who see the subject as an advert for their personal wealth and high morals. Everything they do is with thought for the environment and the wider good of the world.
From clothes and food to pensions and investments, environmental and ethical credentials are always taken into consideration and they are happy to pay premium prices to ensure that they buy the best available products.
2. The ‘Green Is The New Black’ Luvvie
Often seen sipping fair-trade coffee on the move, for these eco-luvvies green and ethical issues are seen as ‘en vogue’.
From their re-usable shopping bags, (designer of course!), to their environmentally friendly cleaning products, every item that they buy has been actively sourced and selected to make sure it meets up to their high standards.
100% clued up on the ins and outs of current ethical and environmental issues, those that fit into this group make it their business to understand green issues in depth and are the most likely of all groups to consider eco issues when voting.
Burdened with a feeling that they could and should do more they are three times more likely than average to be actively involved in an environmental organisation.
3. The Eco Enthusiasts
Having embraced the idea that their actions can impact global issues, those belonging to this group tend to integrate green living into their daily routine by cutting down on car journeys, recycling and buying local produce.
Keen to make a difference, “doing what I can, where I can” tends to be their motto and people belonging to this group are willing to part with extra cash in their weekly shop to ensure they are upholding their principals. Fair trade features strongly on the radar especially when buying groceries whilst clothing, cosmetics and toiletries are also regularly bought with ethical issues in mind.
Vocal with their opinions, this group often feel that the government doesn’t do enough to encourage the country to act environmentally and that local councils make recycling difficult for individuals.
4. The Good Lifers
Living by the adage act local think global, Good Lifers believe that if everyone makes changes on individual level this can make difference needed to protect the planet.
At home, they have water butts, compost heaps, veggie patches and perhaps a chicken or two! They recycle anything they can, drive fuel efficient cars and cut down on unnecessary car journeys.
Good Lifers are keen to uphold values but without facing unnecessary pricing mark-ups, tending to pay a bit extra only for products such as food and clothing.
5. The Skint Sceptics
Cash strapped and unaware of the issues involved, those belonging to this group simply ignore green and ethical issues.
Most likely to be heard claiming “It’s all created by media this eco nonsense” they are not convinced about environmental problems and think that whatever they do won’t make a difference to the state of the world anyway.
They have a general perception that any products promoting themselves as green or ethical cost more and as budgets are tight are not worth considering.
6. The Am I Bothereds?
Ethical issues do not even register on the radar of these typically younger individuals. If something doesn’t directly affect their own lives they are not interested! They are simply too busy to care about the environment and believe they have more important things to worry about than their carbon footprints.
Believing that there is little they can do as individuals that will have any impact on a global scale they rarely recycle compost or consider the origins of anything that they buy.
They would never pay more for organic or fair trade and have a general attitude of if it costs money or takes effort they won’t bother.
Chris Savage Managing Director, Callcredit Marketing Solutions said: “In today’s society, environmental and ethical issues are increasingly influencing consumer behaviour and purchasing decisions. These issues are starting to have a positive impact on the way consumers live their lives, how they shop, how they choose their energy provision and transport and even, in some cases, how they manage their finances”.
This information has been taken from Callcredit Information Groups’ ‘Green & Ethical’ segmentation, the latest addition to the company’s range of customer segmentation tools.
Chris added, “This unique classification has been built to segment individuals based on those behaviours and attitudes towards green and ethical issues at a local, national and global scale. In addition it also provides propensity scores into specific issues such as fair-trade, ‘green’ finance and a willingness to pay more for environmentally friendly products. With this unique insight companies can learn more about their customers and increase the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns”.